CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
Colton —21 years old
Two years ago, outside Riley’s hospital room, Lila gave me some advice and what she said to me changed the course of my life.
“Riley is fragile. She doesn’t need you to push her boundaries, like you’ve relentlessly been doing since you’ve met her. This is exactly what pushed her into Grayson’s arms. If you want her, you need to be patient. You need to soften your heart for her, Colton.”
Riley is an intricate riddle, a beautiful puzzle, and I have taken my sweet time discovering her. Everything about her.
What ticks her off. What makes her laugh. What pleases or angers her. I’ve seen all I had to see—the complicated, the ugly and the beautiful that makes Riley Johnson.
Lila is her best friend and if there’s anyone else in this world who knows Riley better than I do, it’s her. So, I did exactly what she advised.
I’m not a patient person by nature; it’s never been a virtue of mine, but for my Little Wallflower? I’ve been solemnly patient.
For two years, I’ve kept my hands to myself. Giving her the time and the space she needed. I watched her rise from the ashes of her broken heart and slowly put her life together. I watched quietly, as she endured the grief that haunts her and the pain that resides in her soul.
We are more alike than it seems.
Souls made out of flames and with heartbreak etched on our skin.
We are battle-worn.
They say the fruit of patience always tastes the sweetest. It’s not a lie.
That kiss two months ago? Riley initiated it.
And her lips? They tasted like the sweetest fucking thing I’ve ever had in my life. The finest wine, and God, I could easily get addicted to those lips of hers.
She calls me obsessive…
And fuck yeah, I am obsessed with her. Like a mad, mad man.
I will never deny it. If someone were to ask me if I have ever had an addiction, I’d simply point at her. Riley Johnson is my drug of choice. When I’m around her, I forget my demons.
I might be the storm in her life, but she brings me a sense of tranquility that I’ve never felt before. I never knew such feelings even existed.
She is the calm to my chaos.
The softness to my viciousness.
The cure for my venomous heart.
I’m still lost in my thoughts of Riley when my phone rings with an incoming call. My arms uncurl from behind my head and I blindly reach for my phone. It’s way past midnight, who could possibly be calling me at this time?
My heart stammers when I see Riley’s name flashing on the phone screen. She’s calling? What the hell? She has never called me before.
I answer the call, bringing the phone to my ear. Before I have a chance to speak, there’s a breathy moan in the background. My jaw snaps closed, shock coursing through me, and I forget what I was going to say.
Riley moans again, and I know it’s her because I’d recognize the sound of her moan from anywhere. “ Ah … shit.” I hear a rustling in the background and then a needy whimper. “ Colton .”
My name spills from her lips and I’m instantly hard.
She’s touching herself…and calling out to me. Ah, fuck. I’m a goner.
But knowing Riley the way I do, I’m sure she hasn’t realized yet that I’m listening to her. That call is an accident, I just know it.
Since our kiss two months ago, we haven’t been physical with each other again. School has been extremely busy, and since I’m not her neighbor anymore, we don’t see each other every day like we used to before.
There’s a brewing sexual tension between us, and it burns with such lustful ferocity that my cock is constantly hard when I’m in her presence. It’s excruciating. To be in the same room with Riley, not being able to touch her the way I want.
I used to find human touch nauseating.
The idea of sex…of fucking a woman quite literally repulsed me.
But not Riley.
No…
I’m thinking of kissing her.
Touching her.
Feeling her.
Licking. Tasting and saturating the taste of her on my tongue.
I crave to have her warm body under me.
To see the imprint of me on her flesh, to see it redden with my bitemarks.
I wonder if she’ll taste as sweet as she does in my dreams. I want to bury myself in her slick heat and feel her pulse around me. I want her to dig her pretty nails into my back and leave her marks on my skin. I need her to want me as much as I desire her.
My dick hardens, and fuck, I can’t stop now.
Not when I know she’s touching herself to thoughts of me.
When I finally speak, my voice is gruff with lust. “Riley.”
There’s a pause, which is then followed by a shriek of surprise. Aha, she’s finally noticed we’re on call. “Oh my God, oh my God!” There’s more rustling in the background as she panics.
“Don’t you dare hang up on me.” I growl, my tone more aggressive than I intended.
Riley lets out a breathy gasp. “How long have you been listening to me?” she accuses, but there’s no hostility in the way she speaks. If anything, there’s a neediness in her voice.
“Long enough to know you’ve been very naughty, Miss Johnson.” She hisses at my words and I smirk. “How long have you been touching yourself while imagining me? After the kiss or before?”
She’s quiet for a few seconds, and then her husky voice comes through. “Before.”
Goddamn it, Riley is going to be the death of me. “Are you naked right now?”
“Uh-huh. You?” she whispers with curiosity.
“Yes.” I put the phone on speaker, tossing the blanket off me. I cup my bulge, circling the thick length with my fist. “Tell me in detail how you’re touching yourself,” I demand roughly. “Don’t be shy now, baby. Part your legs for me. Keep them wide open, imagine me between the cradle of your thighs.”
“Oh.” I know she’s envisioning it— us . Our sweating bodies entangled together. Skin to skin. Feeling the thumping beat of each other’s hearts against our chests.
“Yes, oh.” I palm my erection, squeezing at the base before pumping my length in my tight fist. My heart thunders in my chest. “Taste yourself for me.”
“W-what?” She gasps, sounding scandalized by my hoarse demand.
I don’t stop fisting, pumping my cock to the sound of her delicate, husky voice. “You heard me, Riley. Rub your pussy and then I want you to put two slick fingers in your mouth. I want you to suck them and savor the taste of yourself because I’m not there to do it.”
“Okay,” she agrees shakily. Her breath hitches and then I hear another needy whimper.
“So filthy, you are. But that’s only for me, isn’t it?” She makes a tiny sound of agreement in the back of her throat. I’m so hard, aching for her. “Tell me, what does your arousal taste like?”
“Tangy…musky, I guess.”
“I bet you taste so fucking sweet.” I grunt. “Now, place your phone on the mattress between your legs, I want to hear the sound your pussy makes while you touch yourself to my voice.”
“You’re so demanding,” Riley complains, but I know she’s doing it anyway. My sweet, filthy girl enjoys dirty talking and likes to be told what to do. “I-I’m touching myself.”
“Good girl. I’m so fucking hard for you.” My chest rumbles with a low growl. “Keep going, don’t stop until you come.”
“I want you to make me come—ah!” Her voice trails off with a strangled moan. I imagine her back arching off the bed, I imagine her eyes squeezed shut as she brings herself near the edge of her climax. Riley releases muffled sighs, whining and whimpering.
I stroke myself, closing my eyes. An image of Riley drifts behind my eyelids.
Slick pussy, curvy hips, taut stomach, pink nipples and big juicy tits I want to sink my teeth in. My cock jerks as I put more pressure on it and my balls grow tight between my legs.
I can hear her. The wet, sloppy sound her cunt makes as she fingers herself. I bet she’s dripping all over her bedsheets. Because of me.
Riley wants me.
She’s thinking of me.
I am the one making her come.
“I’m so close,” she purrs in my ear. “Oh, God…it feels so good.”
“Good. Keep going, I want to hear your voice when you come.” I pump my fist harder, faster. Finding a punishing rhythm that brings me closer to my own release. Ragged, guttural groans spill from me and I don’t bother muffling the sounds that escape past my throat.
I want Riley to know the effects she has on me, the power she holds in the delicate palms of her hands. I want her to hear just how much I need her.
She lets out a low, needy whine. “Ah fuck, so close, so close— Colton !”
Riley screams my name as she climaxes.
My fucking name.
The muscles in my thighs coil tensely and my abdomen clenches. A shudder rolls through me as I come, thick ropes of semen spraying my stomach and coating my palm. My body twitches from the force of my orgasm. “Fuck, Riley.”
After coming down from the high of ecstasy, Riley is quiet. I can still hear her shaky breath through the phone, but it’s almost like she’s scared to speak.
I give her the time she needs, allowing her to think through what just happened. I know she’s going through the whole scenario in her head again. Probably overthinking the outcome of this, but I don’t push or bully her. I wait, patiently.
I don't know how much time passes before she finally speaks. Her voice is breathy and timid, a little bit sleepy. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Then you don’t have to say anything. As long as you don’t regret this, because I don’t.”
“I don’t regret it,” she confesses breathlessly.
Her words fill me with gratifying relief.
Two years…
It took us two years to get here.
I’m never letting her go.
It’s time to collect my debt soon.
***
Three months later
Leaning behind the massive pillar, I cross my ankles, hiding in the shadows where no one can see me, and I wait. I’m not invited to the Christmas gala, hosted by Thomas and Nora Johnson. If Thomas were to see me — Henry’s son, he would most definitely have me thrown out and then the scandal would make it to the tabloids.
I’m here for a different reason though.
I’m here because I have a feeling Riley is going to need me tonight.
She’s making a public appearance after three years.
For three Christmases, she was always able to escape going to the charity gala, but this year, Riley’s father has been adamant about her attending. Probably because he’s started looking for potential suitors for her.
I’m not on the list of suitors, of course. Since I’m a Bennett. But that’s not going to stop me from stealing my Little Wallflower away tonight.
I pop Riley’s favorite mint candy in my mouth. Crossing my arms over my shoulders, I wait for her to arrive. Twenty minutes go by, and thankfully, no one notices me. I’m carefully hidden in the shadows and I have the perfect view of the whole place.
But when the ballroom suddenly grows silent, buzzing with antsy energy, I instantly know who has stolen everyone’s attention.
My gaze slides over to the entrance, and I finally see her.
There’s a breathless second.
My chest aches at the sight of her. It’s unreal how fucking stunning she is.
Absolutely ravishing and exquisite.
She walks down the stairs with elegance— a bewitching enchantress who is in complete control. Riley has everyone under her spell, even me .
Her blonde hair hangs in loose curls behind her back, with wavy tendrils framing her face. A delicate silver headband is perched on top of her hair, and when the stones catch the lighting, I can tell they are diamonds.
Her white dress molds to every curve of her body perfectly. The sheer fabric is flowy and light. There’s a high slit on one side of the dress and the deep V-neckline would be considered inappropriate for such an event. When she shifts to the side, I see that her dress is backless with chain strappings.
Everything about her screams goddess.
Riley looks like she just walked out of Mount Olympus, the personification of Aphrodite herself. Even if I were a blind man, I’d still be swayed by her beauty.
But her dress of choice is scandalous —an act of rebellion.
And that’s why I’m here tonight.
Because if she’s planning to piss off her father, then we’re going to rebel together.
She’s not walking into this battle alone.
I hear gasps from the crowd and the whispers start. Her father’s face reddens with fury, and he stalks toward her. Oh, no, no. Not so fast, Thomas . He better stay the fuck away from her. He’s not going anywhere near Riley as long as I’m here.
I finally step out from the shadows, making my presence known.
Time to cause some chaos.